Mr. Obama in his address offered an abbreviated history of the costly Iraq war, but his focus was on the sacrifices of troops: Nearly 1.5 million men and women have served, more than 30, 000 have been wounded and nearly 4, 500 have died.

WSJ: Obama Hails Troops As He Marks the End of Iraq War

Politicians often rewrite history to their own purposes, but, as Bush's analogy to Iraq suggested, there was more than passing significance to his revision of the history of the Spanish-American War.

NPR: 'Folly of Empire' Offers Critique of U.S. Imperialism

The next year in my 20th Century History class we were assigned a paper comparing the occupations of Germany and Japan after World War II with the contemporary occupation of Iraq.

FORBES: Ten Years After Iraq Invasion, War Does Not Look Like A Noble Endeavor